Modern Sporting Rifles (MSR) based on the AR-10 and AR-15 platforms, firearms originally designed by Armalite, with calibers ranging from 0.22 to 0.308, are among the most popular firearms sold in the world today. These AR-platform MSRs, however, have come under increased public scrutiny recently as the result of several high profile shooting incidents. State legislatures in a number of states, most notably Connecticut and New York, have enacted tough new laws to curb the use of these rifles and limit the perceived danger to the public. These restrictions have generally focused on the possession and use of high capacity magazines and features such as pistol grips and flash suppressors that are closely associated with guns often referred to as assault weapons. Unfortunately, these provisions do little to physically prevent the use of high capacity magazines or, more importantly, modify the speed with which a shooter can swap out one low capacity magazine for another and resume firing. Thus, the opportunity for Law Enforcement or potential victims to respond, during periods when a deranged shooter is trying to reload and resume shooting, has not been substantially affected. Moreover, efforts to physically limit the number of rounds that can be loaded into a firearm have been generally ineffective. Yes, laws regulating the possession and use of high capacity magazines (more than 10 rounds) have been passed, but higher capacity magazines are easily obtainable and nothing physically prevents their use in standard MSRs.
Given that the public interest in owning MSRs is unlikely to diminish and the ready availability and ease of use of high capacity magazines, while now illegal in some states, has not really changed, another approach to limiting the lethality and negative impact on public health is needed.
The standard MSR is manufactured and sold in a configuration allowing it to accept a detachable magazine that can be removed and replaced in seconds. This process does not require disassembly of the action of the firearm.
What is needed are new designs which physically limit the use of high capacity magazines and/or slow the reloading process. Such design modifications could significantly enhance the public safety without unreasonably interfering with Second Amendment rights to bear arms. This combination of design modifications would create longer interruptions in the use of one of these weapons during a shooting spree and provide an opportunity for potential victims to escape or time for others to rush in and overwhelm the shooter.